Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at UCT

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Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at UCT

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The d-school was founded in Cape Town in August 2015 with funding, IP, and academic support from Prof.

The Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at the University of Cape Town is a place where creative intelligence is unlocked, and where future-ready leaders are developed. The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking Afrika at the University of Cape Town (Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika or d-school Afrika) is the only dedicated academic institution in the region that offers academic training and capacitation in design thinking to university scholars and professionals in the public and private sectors. Dr. Hasso Plattner - co-founder of a software company, SAP AG, and chairman of its Supervisory Board - and the Hasso Plattner Trust. Professor Plattner initiated and funded the first academic programmes in design thinking. The establishment of the HPI Schools of Design Thinking of Stanford in the US in 2005, and at Potsdam in Germany in 2007, brought academic rigor to design-led innovation practice and made training programmes in design thinking available to academic scholars and leaders in the private and public sectors. Students from all disciplines and industry and government executives come together at the d-school to learn to work collaboratively in diverse and inclusive multi-disciplinary teams on real-world challenges and to develop human-centred innovative solutions.

02/11/2026

A quick myth to bust: Fast Forward isn't a UCT-only programme.

Whatever campus you call home, this one-day experience is open to you. It's a rare chance to step off your own environment, think alongside people from other institutions and disciplines, and carry practical new tools back to your department — wherever that department happens to be.

Higher education, all of it. One day

Today is the last day for application. Don't miss this amazing opportunity!

Remember these dates:
10th or 12th November

Link is in the comments below!

30/10/2026

Waiting until you have all the answers is a good way to never start.

Some challenges are too complex and too uncertain for that — and Fast Forward is about learning to move anyway. You'll practise exploring a problem before forcing a solution, testing what you think you know, and getting comfortable with not-yet-knowing. It's a more confident way to face the messy stuff.

One hands-on day, for higher education professionals.

Application deadline: 2 November 2026
Programme dates: 10th or 12th November

Link in the comments below!

29/10/2026

“Creativity not rooted in ethics is kind of what got us here.”

Our Senior Researcher Rael Futerman took to the stage at Pan Afrikan Design Week to talk about future-fit education: moving from thinking otherwise to designing otherwise.

His message: start with learners’ lives, read the world, not just the word, and ground creativity in ethics and care.

How might we think near, think far, and remember better together? 💭

28/10/2026

Worth stepping away from your desk for a day? Here’s why.

One day at Fast Forward: a real challenge, a diverse team, expert coaches, and hands-on design thinking. You leave with practical tools, sharper problem-solving, and the confidence to tackle uncertainty.

Swipe to see what a day gives you, then apply via the link in the comments below.

Application deadline: 2 November
Dates to remember: 10th or 12th November

26/10/2026

You already solve problems all day. Fast Forward gives you a sharper way to do it.

In a single day, you'll pick up practical design thinking tools — ways to break a knotty problem down, question what everyone's assuming, and get to the challenge actually worth solving. Tools that don't stay in the room: you'll use them in your next meeting, your next project, your next stuck moment.

One day. A toolkit you keep.

Link in the comments below!

Applications close the 2 November 2026

23/10/2026

Ready to end the year with a fresh perspective?

Applications are open for our final Design Thinking in Practice (DTIP) cohort of the year. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to equip yourself with practical, human-centred innovation tools, this is it.

Because we prioritise a hands-on, high-touch environment, places are highly limited and fill up quickly. Don’t miss this opportunity to step out of your daily routine and step into the new year with a robust toolkit for driving real change in your organisation.

Link in comments below👇

🗓️ Dates: 16 – 18 November 2026 (Apply by 9 November) 📍 Location: Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, UCT

22/10/2026

Want to step out of the traditional classroom and learn how to solve real-world problems? 🌍

We’ve just published a new blog post diving into everything you need to know about Design Thinking Week at the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika! From navigating ambiguity to working with real project partners (like Bili Beadwear), it’s 5 days of action-oriented learning.

If you are a registered student at a South African university, there is still time to apply for the upcoming cohort (23 - 27 November 2026). The programme is fully funded!

Read the new blog and submit your application here before 16 November: Link in comments

Tag a friend you'd like to team up with!

20/10/2026

As we reflect back on the Foundation Programme Graduation, we are thrilled to welcome the new Alumni to the d-school family. Over the course of 9 weeks, each individual paired in groups, tested and iterated their solutions to the project partner challenge from Kisima Radio.

The result? Each member well deservingly graduated from the FND Programme. A massive achievement and well deserved for the enormous amount of time and effort put into each solution.

Congratulations to all the participants.

16/10/2026

Foundation Programme Graduation was an absolute blast. Teams over the course of 9 weeks worked on a wicked problem faced by Nosipho & Kisima Radio.

Today both teams presented solutions they created in line with the specific project partner challenge they faced:

“How might the participants help Kisima Radio’s team connect better with their community audience and stay aligned with one shared vision, when that vision sits with one person, so the station can drive long lasting change in it’s community?”

Filled with bright insights and positive feedback, the participants of the FND programme concluded their Design Thinking course in Fashion.

Congratulations to each participant on this amazing achievement. Special thank you to Nosipho and Kisima Radio for allowing the d-school and participants the opportunity to help organisations within our communities.

12/10/2026

What actually is design thinking?

In short: a practical, human-centred way to solve real problems — understand people, reframe the challenge, explore what’s possible. Less theory, more doing.

It’s the approach you’ll experience in one day at Fast Forward. Swipe for the nutshell version, then apply via the link in our bio.

Address

HPI D-school Building, Corner Cross Campus & Woolsack Drive, Rondebosch, UCT Middle Campus
Cape Town
8005

Telephone

+27216503897

Website

https://dschoolafrika.org/, https://bit.ly/46kScAC

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